Dozens were Injured in Yerevan in Protests Against Former President who was Proposed to Become PM

YEREVAN -- Demonstrators and Armenian riot police clashed after lawmakers nominated Serzh Sarkisian to be the country's next prime minister amid a wave of protests accusing the longtime former president of a power grab.

Protest leader Nikol Pashinian was taken to hospital on April 16 with cuts and an eye injury after police moved in to stop the opposition lawmaker and others from entering parliament.

Pashinian's wife told RFE/RL that the protest leader was taken to the Nairi Medical Center in Yerevan to be treated but that he intended to return to join thousands of Armenians who have been protesting Sarkisian's expected approval as prime minister.

Demonstrators have been rallying since April 13, blocking streets in central Yerevan to protest plans for Sarkisian to shift to the prime minister's post just days after he left the presidency following a decade in office.

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) factions on April 16 unanimously approved Sarkisian as the nominee for the post. Parliament is expected to vote on the matter on April 17.

The protesters, many waving Armenian flags, clogged Marshal Bagramian Avenue, which leads to the National Assembly building, stopping traffic in the process. Lines of riot police stopped the crowd from advancing further toward parliament.

They later rolled out razor wire to hold the surging crowd back, with some local media reporting the use of tear gas and stun grenades as well. Three police were also injured in the clashes, the reports said.

"Something unprecedented is happening in Armenia: the same person wants to become the country's leader for a third time. We cannot let this happen," Pashinian, the outspoken head of the...